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"Kaleidoscope 2" by
docoverachiever is
licensed under CC
BY 2.0.
About this
Open Work
2025-2028 Strategy
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2025-2028 Strategy
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The world has changed a lot since our founding in 2001. At the time, the internet was a radical new
technology that made it easier to share information despite the limitations of restrictive copyright
designed for an analog world. The release of the Creative Commons (CC) licenses ensured that, as
the internet continued to evolve, individuals and institutions could freely share in ways that were
simple, standardized, and allowed for legal reuse. CC wasn’t just about licensing that addressed the
limitations of copyright in a digital world, it was a symbol of sharing and freedom that resisted
against a restrictive environment and brought people together.
The CC licenses gave creators choice over how their works could be reused, and in the same
breath enabled a flourishing commons. This was the promise of the early internet.
Fast forward to today! Information is more accessible than it ever has been, but now we face a new
challenge—centralized control of the flow of information. At a time when there are increasing
concentrations of power online, and when the monopolization of knowledge is amplified
exponentially through technological breakthroughs, we need to intervene with the same creativity
and collective action as we did with the CC licenses 20 years ago. If we continue down this path
without intervention, the internet and our ways of connecting online will be controlled by the few
who disproportionately benefit from the many in ways that deepen existing inequities.
The antidote here is simple, and obvious:
We need a strong and resilient open infrastructure of sharing, enabling a healthy and thriving
creative commons powered by reciprocity and community in the public interest.
Our plan: further develop the open infrastructure of sharing, embody and encourage reciprocity, and
work collectively as part of a global community. Our ask: the creativity and innovation that is
enabled by reliable and sustainable funding to do this work.
We look ahead to the next few years with energy, optimism, and a sense of urgency. If we don’t act
now, a positive future for the commons may be out of reach. With our history to guide us, paired with
the knowledge that we have gained since, we embark with a plan to go over, or around, or through
broken systems, to ensure we can all continue to share knowledge, encourage creativity, and benefit
from the commons for decades to come.
Introduction
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Vision
A world where education, culture, and science are equitably shared as a means to benefit humanity.
Mission
CC empowers individuals and communities around the world through technical, legal, and policy
solutions that enable the sharing of education, culture, and science in the public interest.
"Genetics Exhibit, San Jose Tech" by Thomas Hawk is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
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Goal 1: Strengthen the open
infrastructure of sharing
Goal 2: Defend and advocate for
a thriving creative commons
Goal 3: Center community
Strategic Goals: At-A-Glance
“The Pillars of Creation” by James Webb Space Telescope is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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Goal 1: Strengthen the open
infrastructure of sharing
CC serves as the legal layer of the open infrastructure of sharing. Our tools remove friction and
barriers to sharing and accessing knowledge. Infrastructure is often taken for granted or assumed to
be neutral and enduring. For many users of the internet today, it is as if the CC infrastructure has
always been here and will always be here, as a way for individuals to express values and increase
connection and collaboration. However, in today’s legislative, political, and socio-economic context,
there is nothing neutral about sharing knowledge, and there are no guarantees that the
infrastructure of sharing online will be preserved and protected.
We imagine a world where CC’s foundational open infrastructure is funded by default, and where
individual creators and rightsholders reclaim agency in contributing to and benefiting from the
commons. If we can ensure a strong and resilient open infrastructure of sharing that enables access
to educational resources, cultural heritage, and scientific research in the public interest, we’ll have a
viable alternative to the concentrations of power that currently exist and aim to restrict sharing and
access. Because the commons must continue to exist for everyone, we cannot allow an undesirable
future to emerge unchallenged.
"taking a leaf from the Fibonacci tree" by theilr is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
"taking a leaf from the Fibonacci tree" by theilr is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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